Article June 1, 1992 Issue

"Personal attachment" or the divine influence?

If we're being swayed by someone to do the wrong thing, it's time to remember the relationship that counts the most.

Mary Lee S. O'Neal

It's easy to be influenced by others, especially by someone we respect. But what if we're being influenced to do the opposite of what we feel in our heart we should do, something we know is obviously wrong?

A number of years ago I was faced with this challenge. Fresh out of college, I was working in a pleasant office where there was a lot of mutual appreciation and good humor. Then someone new joined us. She was so sophisticated, chic, and professional that I found myself in awe of her. I was flattered when she began to share confidences with me, and we became friends. After a while, though, I noticed friction was creeping into the office. My new friend was a faultfinder, and no one escaped her sharp tongue. One day I was dismayed to hear myself join her in criticizing a fellow worker, a good friend. Although I was agreeing with my new friend, I didn't really share her feelings. I was so ashamed for having allowed myself to have been manipulated.

I considered myself a kind, loving person, and I didn't want to be critical. Christ Jesus' words "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" had impressed me ever since I had been a student in the Christian Science Sunday School. I thought they were a wonderful guide for living. But this behavior surely wasn't an instance of letting my light shine. My light was shrouded in criticism and self-consciousness. I was so occupied with impressing one person that I began to judge another. Somehow the effort to please a mortal personality had been placed above everything else without my being aware of it.

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